With Super Bowl XLVI coming up on Sunday, February 5, there is no better example of the importance of succession planning than a sport playoff season that comes down to one team attaining the number one spot in the industry.
Contingency Plans: Cover Critical Positions
Let’s first take a look at the Super Bowl’s host city’s team, the Indianapolis Colts. Ending their 2011 season with a 2-14 record (the team’s worst performance in 20 years); it is safe to say they had a horrible season. So why did they suddenly fall apart? Among other things – such as a week defense and no running game – the collapse began prior to the 2011 season when the team’s four-time MVP, quarterback Peyton Manning, suffered a neck injury leaving him unable to play. What quickly became clear was the fact that the Colts lacked a back-up plan in case something happened to Manning. None of the Colts’ back-up quarterbacks played in any regular season game during the 2010 season. With no solid back-ups for the key quarterback position, and no major talent upgrades anywhere else on the team, the Colts were defenseless against disaster.
When It Really Works
Having been called one of the smartest teams in the NFL, the New England Patriots consistently seem to draft and develop players well across many positions over an extended period of time. From 1993-2000, the team had success with quarterback Drew Bledsoe at the wheel. With a rough season in 1999, ending with an 8-8 record, the Patriots acquired quarterback Tom Brady who was to be groomed as Bledsoe’s eventual replacement. Then in 2001, during the second game of the season, Bledsoe was hit hard by New York Jets linebacker. He suffered a sheared blood vessel in his chest, causing Tom Brady to step in as his replacement. Up to the challenge, Brady ended up leading the team into the playoffs and eventually to victory in the Super Bowl.
Several years later, the same situation arose. By 2005, although Brady was the team’s superstar, the Patriots knew they needed a younger player for protection if disaster were to strike. So they drafted Matt Cassel, whose role the first few seasons was to learn the ropes and be ready if something were to happen to Brady. Then at the start of the 2008 season, during the first quarter or the first game, Brady suffered a season ending injury. Matt Cassel stepped in, and not only led them to victory in that first game, but also led them to a respectable 11-5 season. Although Brady returned the following year, Cassel’s performance in the 2008 season earned him the starting quarterback position with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Valuable succession planning and broader talent management lessons can be learned from NFL scenarios like these. One of the biggest risks we take in business is, is it better to ride out an existing, experienced talent to the career detriment of developing the younger talent? Do you sacrifice on-the-job professional career growth for the person waiting in the wings, thereby delaying their greatness a bit longer? It is the common short-run versus long-run benefits trade-off, with a good amount of uncertainty added to the mix. It all comes down to having the right talent pool waiting in the wings, which is succession planning’s ultimate endgame.
For more information on succession planning, please contact Converge to speak with one of our HR experts.